Yesterday, Jiang Han had utilized the Burrowing Technique repeatedly, leaving behind numerous tunnels.
The Third Elder had personally investigated almost every tunnel across the outer peaks. To him, Jiang Han’s divine abilities were nothing more than petty tricks, easily crushed before absolute power.
Therefore, even when the tunnels plunged deep into the earth, the Third Elder descended into them without the slightest hesitation.
After an entire morning of sweeping the mountains, the vanguard had reached the Eighth Peak. This was precisely where Jiang Han was currently hiding.
“Where the hell is that little bastard Jiang Han hiding?”
“He has to be in the mountains. We had men guarding the base last night; he couldn’t have slipped down.”
“Hard to say. He can tunnel through the earth. What if he bypassed the guards and escaped? Aren’t we just wasting our time here?”
“Keep your voices down. If the Third Elder hears you complaining, you’re dead meat…”
Atop the Eighth Peak, several Jiang clansmen bickered as they scoured the terrain.
What they did not know was…
Just behind them, a hollow bamboo tube quietly breached the surface of the soil. Once they moved further away, the tube swiftly retracted. Moments later, it reemerged behind them, constantly maintaining a perfect distance.
“If you ask me, the best method would be dragging Jiang Li up the mountain. We force Jiang Han to show himself. If he doesn’t appear within the time it takes an incense stick to burn, we chop off one of her hands. Let’s see how long he hides then.”
“Are you insane? Jiang Li is the woman Lord Han demanded. If she dies, how will we answer to Han Shiqi?”
“You’re the blind one! If Jiang Han lives, he’ll become a catastrophic threat to our clan. If the girl dies, we can just gift Lord Han a different woman!”
The two clansmen argued loudly. The others temporarily paused their search, lost in thought.
If Jiang Li died, they could simply pick another young maiden from the Jiang Clan to offer Han Shiqi.
But if Jiang Han lived, the Jiang Clan would never know peace again.
Boom!
Without warning, the earth beneath the clansman who had suggested mutilating Jiang Li violently erupted. A war blade cleaved straight up from the dirt.
The strike carried terrifying momentum. The blade caught the man at the groin and sheared him completely in half.
Amidst a rain of blood, dirt, and entrails, a figure soared out, bathed in crimson. The moment he appeared in mid-air, his body froze motionless, as if time itself had stopped.
“Jiang Han!”
The others paled in shock. Seeing Jiang Han bizarrely suspended in the void left them utterly horrified. What kind of divine technique was this, to freeze a body in thin air?
One of the men realized the truth and frantically scanned the surroundings. Suddenly, he roared, “Jiang Shu, behind you!”
A scrawny Jiang clansman looked momentarily bewildered before sheer terror seized his features.
Thud!
His reaction was far too slow. Jiang Han materialized directly behind him and ended his life with a single, clean slash.
“Kill him!”
The remaining men surged toward Jiang Han. One of them pulled out a signal flare and fired it into the sky.
Boom!
The flare detonated high above. Nearby Jiang clansmen instantly caught sight of the burst and sprinted toward the Eighth Peak at top speed.
“Keep him there-!”
Jiang Xiaotian was currently on the Sixth Peak. He unleashed a furious roar, his body shooting into the air as his voice echoed endlessly across the mountains.
“Come and kill me if you dare!”
Jiang Han plunged straight back down. Activating the Burrowing Technique, he vanished into the earth in the blink of an eye.
The remaining men rushed to the edge of the tunnel. They exchanged nervous glances, but not a single one dared to pursue him into the dark.
Swish! Swish!
Before long, squads of Jiang clansmen arrived one after another. Yet, no one dared to jump into the tunnel to hunt Jiang Han. They could only stand safely outside, hurling curses into the hole.
An incense stick’s worth of time later, Jiang Xiaotian charged over like a maddened bull. “Where is he?” he roared from afar. “Where is that little bastard Jiang Han?”
The crowd hurriedly parted, revealing the pitch-black tunnel. One man stepped forward and said, “Reporting to the Third Elder, Jiang Han ambushed us from beneath the earth. He killed Jiang Shu and another, then burrowed back down through here.”
“Why didn’t you chase him?! Didn’t I order you to keep him here?! Useless trash! What are you standing around for? Surround the three nearest peaks immediately!”
Jiang Xiaotian spat a string of curses, then threw himself into the tunnel, plunging into a relentless pursuit.
The others snapped back to their senses and immediately scattered to secure the three adjacent peaks.
Jiang Xiaotian raced through the subterranean passage. He was certain Jiang Han could not hide underground forever. The moment the boy surfaced, he would definitely emerge on one of the three nearby peaks.
Not long after, Jiang Xiaotian’s figure erupted from the soil on the northern face of the Ninth Peak. His gaze swept the surroundings like lightning before he blurred into motion, frantically searching the area.
However, after scouring the vicinity, he found absolutely nothing.
“No, he must have dug a new tunnel from a hidden spot nearby and slipped away.”
Jiang Xiaotian pondered for a moment before returning to his original exit point to search again.
Sure enough, moments later, he discovered a tunnel concealed within a dense patch of brambles. The spot was incredibly secluded; without a meticulous search, it would be impossible to spot.
Without hesitation, he dove into the new tunnel and resumed the chase.
This passageway was incredibly long. He traveled underground for the time it took three incense sticks to burn. When he finally burst back into the open air, he had actually arrived at the Seventh Peak.
“How am I supposed to track him like this?”
Jiang Xiaotian circled the area but found no trace of Jiang Han. He finally ground to a halt, feeling a deep sense of helpless frustration.
Jiang Han’s Burrowing Technique was simply too vexing. He came and went like a ghost. There was no conventional way to hunt him down. Only if he got extraordinarily lucky and stumbled right into Jiang Han would he have a chance to strike.
“Keep searching!”
The manhunt continued for the entire day. Dusk was fast approaching, yet they had found absolutely nothing. Jiang Han had revealed himself only that once before vanishing without a trace, as if he had evaporated from the mortal realm.
“We’re heading down!”
Jiang Xiaotian had crawled through who knew how many dirt tunnels today. He was caked in mud, his hair a disheveled mess, leaving him in an incredibly wretched state.
By the time they reached the foot of the mountain, the sky was pitch black.
Jiang Xiaotian left twenty men behind for the night watch, ordering them to guard several key mountain passes. Although this gesture was largely meaningless-since Jiang Han could easily bypass them underground-it would still exert some pressure on the boy, ensuring he wouldn’t dare descend the mountain carelessly.
“The rest of you, return with me!”
With the arrangements settled, Jiang Xiaotian waved his hand and led the remaining clansmen, bearing the two fresh corpses, back toward Jiang Family Town.
Fwip-Boom!
They hadn’t walked far when a streak of fire suddenly shot into the night sky from the direction of Jiang Family Town. Sparks bloomed violently in mid-air. The faces of Jiang Xiaotian and every clansman present drained of color.
This was the highest-priority signal flare of the Jiang Clan. It was never fired unless a matter of absolute life and death had occurred.
“Not good!”
A terrifying thought struck Jiang Xiaotian. Like a bolt of lightning, his figure shot madly toward Jiang Family Town.